Food-Borne Pathogen-Plant Interactions

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The phyllosphere represents an extremely large habitat for microbes and insects and supports qualitatively and quantitatively diverse populations. The phyllosphere of crop and other plants can harbor and serve as vectors of human pathogens, thus research on the ecology of the phyllosphere has many significant implications on our environment and food supply. An understanding of the interactions among phyllosphere inhabitants and the plant host is essential for the development of strategies to manipulate these communities to increase food safety and security. To advance the understanding of phyllosphere ecology, communication among scientists from diverse disciplines must be encouraged and fostered. The 9th International Symposium on the Microbiology of Aerial Plant Surfaces, will be held in Corvallis, OR August 14-18, 2010 with the objectives to: 1) Provide a forum for review and analysis of the major findings related to the ecology of the phyllosphere; 2) Discuss and critique new and current concepts in relation to current understanding of microbial and other areas of ecology; 3) Enhance research in all aspects of phyllosphere ecology through discussion and speculation as to where future research efforts will result in the greatest potential gain. To achieve these objectives, the meeting will be organized into themes with keynote speakers, oral presentations, and posters. There will be no concurrent sessions and all meals will be included in the registration. Thus attendees will be exposed to all the research fields involved in the study of phyllosphere ecology and provided an environment that will encourage discussion and networking.<P>

APPROACH: The program committee will invite 24 world-leading scientists from diverse fields (epidemiology, entomology, aerobiology, plant pathology, food safety, biochemistry, genetics of resistance, biological control, etc.) who will present keynote talks (30 minutes) that will set the tone and standard for each of 5 thematic morning and afternoon sessions. There will be additional 15 minute oral talks will be selected after review of expanded abstracts submitted by registrants shortly after registration. These brief manuscripts will be reviewed and edited by the program committee for eventual electronic publication in the proceedings of the conference that will be posted on the web. At least one graduate student and one post doctorial fellow will be selected for oral presentations for each session. All other authors will prepare their presentations as posters. The objective of the organizing committee are to balance the subject matter covered by the oral presentations while making sure that the subjects are of broad interest. Additional time will be set aside for poster sessions in which authors will interact one-on-one with participants viewing their work. The conference registration fee will include all meals and evening social events, so that participants will be strongly encouraged to eat together and continue scientific interactions beyond formal meeting sessions. This approach has been very effective in past Phyllosphere meetings in encouraging discussion and establishing collaborative research. The conference organizers will endeavor to support conference fees and travel expenses for selected graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and early-career professionals to the extent that funds permit. Registration fees for all students will be 50% of the normal registration and depending on available funding, all students selected to give an oral presentation will be given a prorated travel allowance based on the cost of travel to attend the meeting. Priority will be given to supporting travel for those speakers who are unable to attend without assistance from the conference and to enhance diversity. The symposium will open Sunday morning at breakfast and formal sessions on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Following the morning sessions on Monday, there will be a conference tour of the Hatfield Marine Research Center and with a banquet in Newport, OR. As many as eight invited speakers will present lectures each day. Each invited speaker will have 30 minutes to develop his/her thesis, and 10 minutes to respond to questions and lead discussion. Research papers and any additional invited lectures will be presented following the invited speakers for each session. Posters will be displayed during breakfast, lunch and breaks, and discussed during each evening's social. Session chairs will vigorously work to encourage discussion and to spread the discussion among the participants.